Moving Mountains
by DessertOrDisaster
Summary: Bella Swan has always been fiercely independent and cynical. After meeting Edward Cullen, she believes he is just another one of her meaningless hook-ups, but he is determined to make it more and crack her tough shell. AH/AU/OOC
1. Miss Independent

I rolled my eyes at the movie playing out on the screen as I turned on my TV. I was watching "Good Morning America" this morning and had left my TV on that channel, so when I turned it on, it was still on ABC. They were playing _The Notebook_, the scene with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling going at it in the rain assaulting my eyes. I quickly flipped through the channels and settled on something much more my style, not to mention infinitely more interesting: major league baseball, Mets vs. The Giants. Granted I wasn't really fans of either teams (I am, and always will be, a Mariners girl, a result of being born in Washington and living with my dad there as a teenager), but it was certainly better than _The Notebook_. I may possibly be one of the only girls in the English-speaking world to not like that movie, but I didn't care. Watching an impossible love story was not exactly how I wanted to spend two hours of my valuable time.

After watching the game for about ten minutes, a commercial came on between innings. I took this opportunity to venture into my small kitchen in my apartment. I opened up several cabinets, sighing as I didn't see anything that particularly appealed to me. I took two steps over to the fridge and peered inside, also not finding anything I wanted to eat in there either. After standing in front of my fridge for a few moments, I decided that what I really wanted was Chinese food.

However, I didn't really feel like being a complete recluse and order take out, so I decided to text my two best friends, Jessica and Angela, seeing if they wanted to go out for some dinner and drinks afterwards.

_Chinese then drinks tonight?_

I entered both of their numbers into the recipients list and pressed send. Not ten seconds later, I got both of their texts back confirming.

_Awesome. Meet at the usual place in 30. _I replied.

Jessica, Angela, and I had been friends since high school and subsequently went to college at Northwestern University in Chicago together. We were all quite different but one thing we always agreed on was our love of Chinese food and one of the first thing we did when we got to Chicago was find an excellent Chinese restaurant. We found one within a month of moving here and had been going there for the past six years, eating there so much we just referred to it as "the restaurant" or "the usual".

Twenty-two minutes later, I was heading out the door, on my way to the restaurant. The walk there (yes, it was close enough to my apartment to walk to, another plus) only took three to five minutes but I couldn't stand the thought of being late for anything, even a simple dinner out with my two best friends, so I always left with a little extra time to get there.

After the short walk (which didn't feel so short, since it was winter in Chicago and the icy wind was brutal), I stepped inside the Chinese restaurant. As I walked in the door, the host smiled at me, grabbed three menus and led me to a table. We came here so often, all of the hosts and hostesses knew our faces and knew that if one of us walked in, the other two weren't far behind.

"I'll lead the other two back here when they get here," the host told me with a smile.

Not two minutes later, Jessica and Angela were lead back to the table. I stood up and gave each of them hugs and then sat back down. We quickly told the waitress who had come over what we wanted to eat and drink, obviously not even having to look at the menu.

"So ladies," I began, "how was your day?"

Jessica simply groaned and that said it all. After getting her undergrad degree, she decided to go to Northwestern's law school and it was definitely tougher than she had anticipated.

Angela shrugged. "It was ok. I had lunch with Ben."

Jessica and I both raised our eyebrows at her.

"Details please," Jessica urged.

Ben was Angela's on-again, off-again boyfriend. They were currently off-again, with their last break up being the worst of them all. Ben had apparently been flirting with some girl at a club they went out to, so Angela started flirting with other guys just to piss him off. Well, it worked because when they got back to Angela's apartment, Angela said they fought for about an hour, before she threw a curling iron at him and he threw three TV remotes back at her. That was about a month ago, and her and Ben had only texted once or twice, neither one of them apologizing for what had happened.

As Angela was about to speak, the waitress came with our drinks. We all smiled at her and took our straws.

Angela took a quick sip of her sweet tea before beginning.

"Well, we just went to Chili's," she began.

"Classy," I mumbled sarcastically under my breath. She just shot me a look. I never did think Ben treated her like he should, like she was the princess that she was.

"Anyway, he called me up this morning while I was at the office and said he missed me. He said he missed talking to me and that I was his best friend and that he just wanted to have lunch and catch up. So I agreed, and it was nice. We just caught up and talked. He said he'd call me sometime next week to see if I wanted to go out again."

"Are you getting back together?" Jessica asked.

Angela shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it's Ben. It's always a possibility. I'll probably always love him as long as he's in my life."

"All the more reason for you to let him go," I stated. "Did he apologize for throwing the remotes at you?"

She shook her head. "But I didn't exactly apologize for throwing the curling iron, either. We're both at fault on this one so I don't really see the need for either one of us to apologize."

I just rolled my eyes and took a sip of my drink. At that point, the waitress came back carrying our three plates of food. I unrolled my fork from my napkin and took a bite of my sesame chicken.

"All I'm saying is," I started after I had finished chewing, "is that you can do so much better than him. Trust me, Ange. I mean, you guys are either always fighting or you're not together and he's taking you to _Chili's._ I mean, if you're going to insist on being in a relationship, you might as well be with someone who makes it worth your while."

"But he does," she argued back. "We've just hit a bit of a rough patch in our relationship. We'll be ok. I mean, we love each other, so we'll work through it."

I caught Jessica's eye across the table and we both just rolled our eyes. We both thought that Angela's whole 'love will find a way' attitude was ridiculous.

"Whatever, Ange. Just when you're stuck in a boring marriage with him in the suburbs with a mortgage and a mini-van and three kids, don't be jealous of me and Bella when we're still living the high life here in the city," Jessica told her.

"Amen," I agreed and raised my Dr. Pepper to toast with Jessica.

"You guys," Angela whined, "you can't seriously tell me that you really want to spend your life single. You don't want to find that one person who just completes you, who just makes you whole, and who loves you unconditionally?"

I didn't respond and just continued eating my chicken. Personally, I thought the whole idea of soul mates and there being just one person out there for you was ridiculous. There are billions of people in the world. What are the odds that, even if there is a such thing as soul mates, that you would even meet them?

"Sure, that'd be great," Jessica responded. "But I'm going to take care of me first. I'm just saying that I'm not going to settle and I don't think you should either. You and Ben, you're just too…too…I don't know the word, but he's not the one for you."

Jessica wasn't quite as cynical as me. She believed in soul mates and true love but, like me, was fiercely independent and wanted to take care of herself and her goals first.

I, on the other hand, didn't believe a word of it. There is no such thing as true love and other halves, so I figured why waste my time marrying someone who was only to going to make me happy for a max of ten years. Then, I'd be stuck in a dead-end, boring marriage, when I could still be single and living a more interesting life.

"Ok, you guys. I get it. You don't like Ben. Let's move on," Angela insisted.

The rest of the meal, we made general conversation about our days and our jobs, or in Jessica's case, school.

Angela worked at a book publishing company, doing mainly boring, tedious tasks while trying to work her way up the corporate ladder. I worked for an advertising firm and while I enjoyed my job, I wasn't entirely sure it was what I wanted to do with my life. Several times I had caught myself wishing I had gone into the medical field, but the thought of going back to school was daunting.

After we had finished our meal, we paid and left, stepping out into the cold night air. We began quickly walking to our favorite spot for drinks. It was a little bar, tucked into a corner. It never got to crowded because it didn't really look like a bar from the outside, so only locals knew it was there. There were never lines to get in, but it was never totally deserted either.

We quickly stepped inside out of the freezing temperatures and headed over to the bar. The bartender came over to take our orders and we picked back up on our conversation from the restaurant.

"Excuse me, miss," I heard as someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with a gorgeous man. He had emerald green eyes and the sexiest smile I had ever seen. He was unbelievably attractive. And I had seen some gorgeous men in my time. "I believe you dropped this on the way in."

He handed me my wallet, which I had just shoved into my coat pocket after paying at the restaurant, not bothering to put it back in my purse. It must have fallen out when I took off my coat before sitting down at the bar.

"Thank you," I told him as I smiled at him, even though I was sure it wasn't nearly as dazzling as his.

I didn't know it was possible, but he smiled even bigger at me, really turning on the charm. "No problem at all."

At that point, he looked so gorgeous all I wanted to do was drag him back to my apartment. It had been awhile since I had really great sex and he looked like the kind of guy who knew how to show a girl a good time.

"You know," I began, "most people probably wouldn't have given it back. Let me buy you a drink as thanks."

I could tell he was a little shocked that _I _offered to buy _him _a drink, since it was normally the guy who bought the girl a drink, but he quickly recovered. "No, that's not necessary. I would want someone to do the same for me."

"Oh, come on. I wouldn't be able to function without the stuff in my wallet. It's the least I can do."

He was quiet for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to accept my offer.

"Ok," he replied, sitting down at the bar next to me. I could practically hear Angela and Jessica wishing they had dropped their wallets. "But if you leave here with an extra ten in your pocket, I swear it wasn't me."

I smiled genuinely at him and extended my hand. "I'm Bella."

He extended his hand as well and grasped mine in his. "Edward."


	2. Come On, Take Me Home

"Well, Edward," I began, "are you here with anyone?"

"No one important," he responded. "Just my brother and my friend from work."

"Well, I don't want to keep you from your friends," I told him. At that time, the bartender came back with our drinks. I took a sip of my daiquiri and looked at him over the brim of my drink.

"Oh it's fine. You're much prettier than them anyway."

I smiled at his joke and set my drink down.

"Besides," he continues, "it seems as if I'm the one making you ignore your friends."

I looked next to me to see Jessica and Angela sipping their drinks and making small talk.

"I think they'll be just fine without me," I replied with a smile. "So, tell me, what exactly are you doing here on a Tuesday night?"

"Oh nothing terribly exciting," he replied, then took a sip of his Sam Adams. "Just unwinding after a long day at work."

"Really? What do you do?"

"Well, I'm currently doing my residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I just got off from a very long shift so I decided to come out for a drink."

I nodded, trying to appear interested in his life so it wouldn't look like I just wanted to get in his pants. Even if that is all I wanted, it's not good to look desperate.

"Northwestern, huh? I got my undergrad there."

"Really? What did you study?" he asked. He actually did seem genuinely interested in what I had to say, which I'm sure what have been great for any other girl, but all I really wanted to do was get laid. It was just my luck that I was probably the only girl in the bar only looking for meaningless sex, and I was chatting it up with the guy who actually cared what I had to say.

"I got my degree in international relations."

He nodded and took another swig of his beer. "So what job does one get with a degree in international relations?"

I shrugged. "Hell if I know. I work at an advertising agency. Not exactly what I wanted to do with my life, but it pays the bills." I took another sip of my drink, finishing it off. I nodded to the bartender and he quickly bought me another.

"What do you want to do with your life?" he questioned.

I just stared at him for a moment. This guy was gorgeous and he had to know it. He had to know that I would undoubtedly be attracted to him and be willing to go back to his place, or to mine, no questions asked. So why was he sitting here, actually talking to me, actually trying to get to know me?

I snapped out of my internal monologue when I realized if I didn't answer soon I was going to appear slightly crazy.

"I'm not entirely sure. I kind of want to do something with medicine but I kind of think it's too late for that. The thought of going back to school seems a little ridiculous."

Why was I telling him all this? The horny part of my brain told me to turn on the charm and get us out of here, back to my apartment and naked, as soon as possible.

"It's never to late to do something you're passionate about," he told me seriously.

I shrugged. "I didn't say I was particularly passionate about medicine, just that it might be something I want to do."

"Regardless, it's never too late."

* * *

Half an hour, and several more drinks later, I wasn't exactly drunk, but I certainly wasn't as sober as I was when I walked in. Much to my own surprise, I had spent the whole time just _talking_ to Edward. I had tried to turn on my charm and flirt with him but Edward either didn't notice or wasn't interested.

If I had to take a guess, it was that he wasn't interested. He was extremely handsome, he could have any girl he wanted in no time, so why waste his time with me? Granted, I didn't think I was ugly, but I knew I wasn't exactly drop-dead gorgeous. He was gorgeous though, so it was worth a shot. Plus there had to be some reason he was still sitting there talking to me.

Then a thought occurred to me. What if he hadn't made a move on me because he had a girlfriend or wife? He didn't have a ring on his finger but he did say he worked at a hospital, maybe he didn't want something happening to it. I may just be looking to get laid, but I wasn't a home wrecker.

"So Edward," I began as the bartender set down yet another drink for him and me. I wanted to figure out if he had someone, because if he did, it really wasn't worth it for me to sit here and stare at this beautiful man I would never have the pleasure of having naked in my bed.

"Yes Bella?" he replied.

"You've told me all about your job. What about your life outside your job?" I figured if there was someone in his life, they would be important enough for him to mention.

"Oh, there isn't much to tell. I spend most of my time working, studying to become a doctor. I have a brother, Emmett, the one who is over there. And a sister, Alice. She lives in the area, too. And other than work and family, I don't really have much of a life. And I didn't realize how boring my life is until I actually said it out loud," he said with a laugh.

"You're studying to become a doctor, it's to be expected that you don't have much time for much else," I reassured him.

I was relieved he didn't seem to have a wife or a serious girlfriend. Now I could focus on getting him alone. I decided to just be bold and practically come right out and ask him back to my apartment.

"Well, Edward, I think we've been sitting in this stuffy bar long enough. What do we continue this conversation back at my apartment?" I hoped he was just drunk enough to accept my offer.

He was quiet for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to take me up on my offer. After he was quiet for what would be an acceptable amount of time, I accepted the fact he was most likely not going to come back to my apartment with me.

"I actually have a really early shift tomorrow," he explained.

Right, I'm sure he did. I hated when people came up with crap excuses. I knew he was gorgeous and that it was a long shot trying to get him in bed. He could have just flat out told me no.

"But," he continued, "why don't we exchange numbers so we can get together when I don't have to work the next morning."

"Ok, sure," I said, grabbing my cell phone out of my purse. He took his out of his pocket and we exchanged phones, entering in our numbers.

He handed me back my phone and stood up, getting off the bar stool. "I hope to see you again soon, Bella," he told me, flashing that smile that just made me want to jump him.

"Me too."

* * *

An hour later, I finally made it back to my apartment. After Edward had left, I turned my attention back to Angela and Jessica. They of course wanted to know the details of my conversation with Edward. I told them what he had told me about himself and when I got to the part about exchanging numbers, they all but squealed.

"He's absolutely gorgeous," Angela gushed.

"You have to call him. You need to go out with him!" Jessica encouraged.

At the time I just shrugged but the more I thought about it, I realized I probably wouldn't call him. I definitely wasn't one for relationships and if I started to call him and we went out to dinner or something like that, it could lead to one. I never was good at stopping those kind of things before they got started. Maybe if I called him and made it clear that it was only a booty-call (for lack of a better word), then I would go meet up with him again. But I would have to find a way to make it clear to him that it was no more than a hook-up.

_Hold up, Bella_, I thought. Don't get ahead of yourself. He was probably just being nice with the whole exchanging numbers thing. He probably wasn't interested in you.

Or what if…

What if he was gay? That would be a complete shame if he was. He was one of the sexiest men I had ever laid my eyes. The female sex would certainly be missing out if Edward was gay.

I decided to put the amazingly attractive man out of my mind and turn in for the night. I put on a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants and climbed into my welcoming, albeit empty, bed.

* * *

After I arrived home from work the next day, all I wanted to do was take off my high heels, throw myself on my couch, and not move for the rest of the night. I had a particularly exhausting day at work. No one could agree on a new ad campaign for one of our major clients and we had all spent the majority of the day arguing on what would be the best marketing approach. We ended up staying an hour past the time we normally left and everyone still wasn't in accord over what to do.

I trudged back to my room, changing out of my business clothes and into my most comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt from college. I made my way back to the living room and did exactly what I wanted to: settle on the couch and turn on the TV. I brought up the cable guide menu and checked what was one. After going through all of the channels, I settled on a re-run of _House, MD. _

After about forty-five minutes of the show, my phone chirped, signaling I had a text message. I leaned over to grab it off the coffee table and opened up the text.

_Hey it's Edward from last night. Sorry I'm not calling you. I'm at work and can't really talk on the phone right now but my shift ends in 30 minutes and I don't have to work in the morning so I was wondering if you'd want to continue our conversation from last night?_

I stared at the text, wondering what I wanted to respond with, if I wanted to respond at all. I noted the fact that he mentioned he didn't have to work in the morning. He was expecting to be with me very late, if not all night. I figured that he was sexy enough that I could at least give him a shot and meet him somewhere. If he really did want to just talk, I could always fake a phone call and an emergency of some sort and get out the date. But if he was looking for the same thing I was, just to get laid, I didn't want to pass up the chance since he was so amazingly good looking. And someone that good looking probably knew his way around in the bedroom, so to speak.

_Sure. Meet you at the bar we were at last night in 45. _


	3. Control

Forty-three minutes later, I walked into the bar only to see Edward already seated and waiting for me. I was always the first one to arrive so to see him already there was a little unnerving.

"A little early, are we?" I asked, sitting down next to him. I observed that he already had a beer in his hand and it was already more than half empty. How long had he been here?

He just shrugged. "I just came here as soon as I got off work. It didn't take me as long to get here as I thought it would."

I nodded in response to his answer. The bartender then came over and asked me what I wanted to drink. I told him I didn't want anything right now. If I was going to have sex with this gorgeous man I decided I wanted to be completely sober for every (hopefully) mind blowing moment.

I noticed just by looking at him that it didn't appear he had a good day. His shoulders were slumped and his mouth was slightly turned into a frown, something I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't seen his amazingly sexy smile the night before. His eye brows were just barely knitting together, creating a faint worry line right above the bridge of his nose.

"Rough day I work?" I ventured.

He took another swig of his beer before answering. "Yeah. You could say that."

"Anything particularly horrifying or just normal busy day?" I asked.

_Oh perfect, Bella, _I thought. _Way to make him want to have sex with you, ask him about his bad day. I'm sure he wants to do nothing but fuck you senseless now._

He took yet another swig of beer and turned to look at me, instead of just staring straight ahead as he had been. "I'd rather not talk about. That's kind of why I texted you. I figured a night out would be good."

A night in could be equally good, I wanted to say. But once again I didn't want to appear too desperate. Desperation was not an attractive quality in anyone.

"Oh," I decided to say instead. Not exactly intelligent, but it certainly wasn't desperate. I smiled at him, hoping he would return the gesture. "Well I'm glad you thought I could brighten your day."

He did smile back but it wasn't nearly as beautiful as the carefree smile he had shown me last night. "Do you want to go get some dinner? I'm kind of hungry."

I know I had said that I wouldn't go out with him, that I would just meet him at the bar and take him back to my apartment, but the guy had just told me he had a bad day. I couldn't be a complete bitch and just ditch him at the bar just because he didn't want to immediately want to go home with me. He was probably really hungry after working all day. I may just be looking to get laid, but that didn't mean I was completely heartless.

"Sure. There's a great Chinese place around the corner that my friends and I go to all the time." I didn't care that I had just eaten there the night before. I could live on nothing but Chinese food if I had to.

I grabbed my coat off the bar and he did the same, leaving some money to pay for the beer.

We walked quickly to the restaurant. It was just shortly after 7 PM so the night time cold wind was really starting to pick up. Snow flurries drifted down from the sky as we walked through the streets, desperate to get inside the climate-controlled restaurant.

As soon as we stepped inside, the same host from last night smiled at me and grabbed four menus, seeing Edward come through the door with me and assuming Jessica and Angela weren't far behind.

"No, it's just me and him tonight," I corrected. He nodded politely and put two of the menus back.

Edward shot me a look as the host lead us back toward our table.

"What?" I said. "I told you me and my friends come here all the time."

He just chuckled at me as we took our seats at a booth conveniently located in the back corner. The middle of the restaurant could be extremely loud and crowded and I was sure that wouldn't do much to improve his mood or to get him in _the _mood.

After the waiter came to take our drink orders, Edward opened the menu, scanning to find something he wanted to eat. I just sat there watching him, since I already knew what I wanted to order.

He really was unnaturally attractive. His emerald eyes were possibly the most gorgeous green I had ever seen. They were accented by his thick, dark brown lashes that probably would have looked girly on any other guy, but on him they just made him look even more handsome. He had high cheekbones and an angular jaw, giving him an almost Greek god appearance. His hair looked like he ran his hands through it a hundred times a day yet it still managed to look amazing.

I let my gaze wander down to his hands and forearms as he held the menu. His forearms were muscular and chiseled and I briefly wondered if the rest of his was as sculpted. His hands were large and lean and I absolutely couldn't wait to have them all over me.

"See something you like?" he joked. He looked at me over the top of his menu, smirking at my obvious staring.

I nonchalantly shrugged, strangely not embarrassed that he had caught me staring. It was impossible for him not to be aware of the fact he was attractive and that I was constantly checking him out.

"I suppose. That chicken over at the table next to us does look quite good," I replied, motioning my hand in the direction of the table who had just received their meal.

He gave a little chuckle and returned his attention the menu.

"What do you suggest, since you seem to be a regular here?" he asked me after several more moments of studying the menu, closing it and setting it to the side.

"Well, the sesame chicken is good. And the broccoli and beef. And so is the General Tso's chicken," I told him, listing off what Angela, Jessica, and I normally got when we came here. He nodded, taking in mys suggestions.

"So," Edward began. But before he could finish what he was going to say, the waiter came back and took our orders. I got my usual, sesame chicken, and Edward took my advice and ordered the General Tso's chicken.

I smiled at him after the waiter left, silently urging him on to continue whatever it was he was going to say.

"How was _your _day? Marginally better than mine, I hope." He took a sip of his drink, which the waiter had brought when he came to take our food orders, and waited for me to respond.

Once again, he was genuinely interested in what I had to say, which honestly kind of freaked me out. I was used to guys just mainly wanting to get in my pants, so whenever I did talk, I didn't worry too much about what came out of my mouth. It really wouldn't matter, since they wouldn't remember in the morning. But Edward actually listened and in the past, I seemed to have a talent for making myself sound like an idiot. And Edward was studying to become a doctor and he was always so articulate; he most likely didn't have sex with people who couldn't at least hold his interest.

"Probably not. One of our biggest clients wants a new campaign and no one on the team can decide what it should be. I spent the good majority of the day holed up in a board room, bickering with ten other people."

"That sounds miserable," he responded with a slight chuckle.

"Not miserable, just unpleasant," I offered, not wanting to sound like I was overly complaining. His job involved saving people's lives; there was no way my day was worse than his.

We made small talk for the next few minutes until the food came. I couldn't help but watch as Edward wrapped his mouth around his fork, desperately wanting for that mouth to be all over me. It was official: it had been way too long since I had been laid.

"Good?" I asked, hoping he liked my food suggestion.

"Yes, very," he replied with a smile.

We ate the rest of our dinner in relative silence, only speaking to comment on little things and to attempt to make very boring small talk.

After we finished our meal, we sat, waiting for our waiter to bring the check.

"That was delicious. I can see why you and your friends come here all the time," he told me.

"I could seriously eat here for all three meals a day. Too bad they aren't open for breakfast."

He simply smiled in reply. I tried to inconspicuously check my watch. It was only nine o'clock, way too early for a night to end. Even though I did have to work in the morning, I was used to staying up late and not getting much sleep (I had always naturally been a night owl). I quickly worked up a plan to get him back to my apartment.

"So Edward," I began. "It's only nine, what do you say we go back to my place to watch a movie? It's just right around the corner."

I decided that if he declined this time, that would be it. Going out a second time would be entering into dating territory, a place I did not want to go. I was a one-time sort of girl.

I silently hoped he would accept my offer. As I said before, I really needed to get laid. Plus,fact that he was unbelievably hot was not helping my sexual frustration.

"Yeah, that sounds good."


	4. Don't Stop

After paying for our meals (separately of course, as this was _not _a date), we made our way back to my apartment. Although it was just around the corner, the freezing temperatures made the walk seem twice as long.

"Do you have a car or something at the bar you need to get?" I asked. I hoped he could understand me, as I was sure my teeth were chattering.

"No I take the 'L' everywhere. My car hardly leaves the parking garage."

I nodded in response, too cold to return with actual words.

We finally made it back to my apartment, just before the frost bite set in I'm sure. I wrestled my keys out of my purse and my frozen fingers struggled to turn it in the lock. I eventually worked the door open, and we stepped inside, relieved to be in above-zero temperatures.

"Want something to drink?" I asked as he hung his coat on the small coat rack I had by my front door.

"No thank you," was his polite reply.

I nodded as we made our way into my living room. I walked over to the right wall, where I had several shelves with all my movies.

"What do you want to watch? I have pretty much every type of movie, except horror. I don't have a lot of those. Although, I have every Romero zombie movie. I love those for some reason."

I turned around to face him and he had a blank look on his face.

"You didn't really invite me back here in hopes of watching a movie did you?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was excited or angry, his tone of voice was completely flat.

_Oh, what the hell,_ I thought and decided to tell him the truth.

"No, not exactly."

"Well, then," he said, taking a few steps closer to me, that sexy smirk returning to his face, "let's not waste anytime."

Hell yes! I knew I liked this guy.

I was planning on returning a sexy smirk of my own, but before it could work it's way on my face his lips were on mine.

At first, his mouth was slow and languid against mine, just testing the waters so to speak. After a few moments, the kiss started to intensify. Our mouths moved more urgently against each other and his hands around my waist pulled my tighter into his body. I tangled one of my hands in his hair, which was extremely soft by the way, and attempted to bring his amazing, soft lips even harder against mine. His tongue began to trace my bottom lip, something I absolutely loved when guys did.

But, although he was a great kisser, I didn't invite him here just to make-out. The familiar ache in-between my legs reminded me of the exact reason I brought him up here.

I reluctantly broke away from the kiss, grabbed his hand, and lead us toward my room. As soon as we reached my room, I turned him so the back of his knees hit the edge of my bed. I put my hand on his chest and pressed him down so he was sprawled out on my mattress.

I quickly removed the long sleeve shirt I had been wearing and at the same time he slightly leaned up so he could slip his shirt off. I quickly moved to straddle him on the bed, my knees on either side of his thighs. I bent down to kiss him again as I felt just one hand reach behind me and undo my bra clasp.

Show-off.

I quickly slid the straps off my shoulders and tossed it somewhere behind me. As soon as it left my body, Edward's hands were grasping my breasts, his long and lean fingers tugging at the sensitive skin.

I quickly moved my hands down and worked on getting his pants off his body. Once the button and zipper were undone, I grabbed both the waist of his bands and the elastic of his boxers and he lifted his hips so I could pull them both off at once.

After he was completely naked, he flipped us over so he was on top. His hands went immediately down to my pants button while his mouth found mine again. My pants were removed just as quickly as his and since I didn't normally wear underwear, we were finally both naked, just moments away from something I desperately needed.

"Condom," I managed to breathe out, as I reached over and opened my top bedside table drawer. Edward reached over and grabbed one, quickly tearing off the wrapper and sliding it on himself.

And let me just say, he did not disappoint. This man was completely amazing _everywhere. _

He leaned back down, barely brushing his lips against mine as he pushed in me.

_Finally. _

I was never one for foreplay and I was very much glad we just got straight to fucking.

He trailed hot kisses down my jaw and neck as he thrust in and out of me.

_Yes, yes, yes._

Oh man, he was good at this. He had managed to find one sweet spot after another as he thrust. I lifted one of my legs up to his hips, allowing him to push into me at a different angle, hitting the sweetest spot of all.

"Oh, yes," I moaned.

Edward simply groaned in response as continued to pound into me. He began thrusting harder as I came closer and closer to my climax.

"_Oh, oh, yes,_"I called out as I came around him, hard. Maybe it was just because I had been without really good sex in a long time, but the orgasm he gave certainly was mind-blowing.

After several more thrusts, he moaned and threw his head back, his own orgasm hitting him hard as well.

He collapsed on top of me, both of us breathing hard and not being in any state to move or do anything.

After several moments, he pulled out of me and rolled to the side.

"Trash can by the bed," I managed to mumble out, still breathless from my amazing climax.

He rolled off the condom and threw it in the trash can, then rolled onto his back and slung his right arm over his eyes.

"Wow," he said, still breathing heavy.

"Yeah. That was good."

"You can say that again."

We laid there for about a minute more when the faint sound of a cell phone ringing filled the room.

Edward sat up and reached down to the floor, where his pants had been thrown. He reached in his pocket and grabbed his phone. He looked at the caller ID and sighed.

"It's a number I don't know," he explained. "It could be someone from the hospital. Do you mind?"

"No, take your call."

He quickly flipped open his cell phone and answered it. I laid there, still coming down off my high, listening to his conversation.

"Hello?…Alice?…Calm down, what happened? Where are you?…It's ok, I'll be there in like fifteen minutes…No, it's fine. Bye."

"Everything ok?" I asked as I propped myself up on my elbow to look at him. He sounded pretty worried.

"Yeah, I think." He got up and started moving around the room, putting his clothes back on. "My sister went out with some friends and on the way back to her apartment her cell phone died and she got lost. She called me from a payphone. She's fine, she's just freaking out."

I nodded in understanding.

"I'm really sorry to have to just rush off. I would just call her boyfriend and tell him to pick her up but he works at the hospital too and he's working the night shift tonight," he explained.

"No, it's fine, I understand."

I wondered if he thought I had actually wanted him to stay. Most of the time whenever I hooked up with guys, it was at their apartment so I could just slip out while they slept. If a guy ever came over here, I usually made up some excuse about having to get up early in the morning so he would leave.

"Bye, Bella," he said with a smile and wave as he turned to leave my room.

"Bye, Edward," I returned.


	5. Just For Now

The next day, I agree to meet Angela and Jessica at a pizza restaurant that was also close to our apartments. They had asked if I wanted Chinese but I declined and suggested somewhere else instead, telling them I didn't want Chinese three nights in a row. That caused a uproar, not because they didn't like pizza, but because they wanted to know who I had gone to eat Chinese with last night. I promised to tell them about it in person once we met for dinner.

After stopping by my apartment to change out of my business clothes and high heels into something more comfortable, I was on my way to the restaurant, Ray's Pizza. It was another one of those little hole-in-the-wall places that we absolutely loved.

I stepped inside and was greeted by Angela and Jessica, already seated since I had to go home to change.

"We already ordered you a Sprite," Jessica told me as I sat down at the booth. I slid in next to her and across from Angela.

"Thanks guys," I replied. I didn't even bother to look at the menu. Every time we came here, we all split a pepperoni and sausage pizza.

"So, how is everyone?" I asked.

Angela shrugged. "I have a date with Ben tomorrow. He told me to dress nice. I think he might be taking me to that Italian place I love."

"Are you going to take him back?" Jessica asked.

"Probably. I mean, I don't see why I shouldn't. It was just a stupid fight we had."

"Yeah but you're always having stupid fights," I argued. "It can't be any fun to be in a relationship with someone you can't even get along with."

"We'll work on it," Angela said.

Neither Jess or I said anything back, dropping the subject. Trying to talk sense into Angela when it came to Ben was like talking to a brick wall.

"Enough about my love life. Who did you get Chinese with last night, Bella?" Angela asked.

"You remember Edward from the bar the other night? The guy who gave me my wallet when I dropped it." I said.

"Him?! He was gorgeous!" Jessica exclaimed. "Was it just dinner? Or was there some, um, dessert, so to speak, afterwards?"

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell," I responded with a smirk.

Angela laughed. "Oh, you so got some."

I just shrugged, continuing to smile. The waiter came with our pizza, which Angela and Jessica must have ordered before I arrived. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw the food and I grabbed two pieces and put them on my plate.

"Are you going to see him again?" Jessica asked, picking back up the conversation after we had all had a few bites of our food.

I shrugged. "Probably not. He texted me once today but I didn't respond. I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

"Just because you're not interested in a relationship doesn't mean you can't see him again," Angela offered. "I mean, he was incredibly gorgeous. You could always just keep the line of communication open just in case you need a date for something. Or, you know, if you get a little _lonely._"

I laughed and nodded. "You have a point."

And she did have a point. My boss was always throwing these lavish dinner parties at his house and Edward would make a great date. And afterwards…well I wouldn't exactly be adverse to having a repeat of last night. I would just have to make sure that he knew it was purely physical. I had just physical relationships before that had worked out just fine. So maybe I could have the same thing with Edward. He was incredibly sexy after all.

I decided that once I got home, I would text him back, inviting him to the dinner party my boss he would be having not this coming weekend, but the next.

* * *

**EPOV**

I absolutely could not get her out of my head. It was extremely frustrating considering how I was at work and really needed to concentrate but every time I let my mind drift for just a second, I couldn't stop thinking about her. How her skin felt against mine, how her lips felt as they moved with mine, the moans and sounds she made.

_Focus Edward, _I told myself as I replaced an IV bag on one of the hospital's patients.

After seeing her at the bar two nights ago, I honestly wasn't going planning on seeing her again. She was beautiful but I had just gotten out of a year long relationship two months ago and wasn't exactly sure I was ready to be with someone else.

However, yesterday I couldn't get her big brown eyes and her laugh out of my head. It was a particularly stressful day and I wanted to unwind so I had texted her, asking if she wanted to meet somewhere.

And let me just say I swear I wasn't planning on sleeping with her. I honestly just wanted to go out to dinner with someone other than my brother or my friends from work. I wanted to just be around someone who wouldn't constantly talk to me about work or medicine. But when she invited me back to her apartment after dinner, I couldn't resist. As soon as I kissed her, I knew what was going to happen but I was powerless to stop it. That girl had me wrapped around her finger and I had only just met her. I felt absolutely horrible when Alice had called me and I had to rush off. I couldn't quite figure out what it was about her that had me wanting more. She was beautiful but I had dated several beautiful women and none of them had the affect on me like she did. It was like my skin was on fire whenever she touched me. I had never had sex with a woman after just knowing her for one night before. I had never had a one night stand before. Casual sex just wasn't my thing but when she put her hands on me, it was impossible for me to stop.

I had texted her quickly today during one of my breaks asking how she was doing today. I was hoping she would text back saying something about how amazing last night was or something like that but I didn't even get a response. Maybe she was angry that I had to run off so soon last night to go pick up Alice. She didn't seem angry at the time but maybe she was good at hiding her emotions.

I managed to trudge through my day with thoughts of Bella running in my mind. I thought the day would never end but I finally made it back to my apartment. I was exhausted and it was only 9 o'clock. I was considering just turning in for the night and going to bed when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I quickly dug it out and flipped it open, hoping it was Bella.

I smiled when I saw it was.

_Sorry I'm just now responding. My phone was dead all day and I just now found the charger. Anyway my boss told me today he's having a party at his house not this Saturday but the next. Want to be my date?_

I smiled even bigger. She wanted to see me again. But that was over a week from now. Could I wait that long?

_I'd love to. But I don't know if I want to wait a whole week to see you again. What do you say to dinner this Saturday?_

* * *

**BPOV**

I stared at his last text for a few moments, not really knowing how to respond. I didn't really know if I wanted to see him again this weekend. I didn't want to get too much into relationship and dating territory, but I did want to see him again in hopes of having a repeat of last night. I finally figured out what to respond with a typed out a reply.

_I'm busy the whole weekend, sorry. How about early next week? Does Tuesday night work for you?_

I wasn't exactly busy this weekend but I wanted to move the date around a little to have a little control.

_Sure. Tuesday sounds great._

At first inviting him to my boss's dinner party had seemed like a good idea. He was handsome and charming, the perfect date for something like this. But now I had just agreed to yet another date with him. I would have to make sure he knew that I was only interested in something physical. And I would have to make sure that he ended up back at my apartment, more specifically my bed.


	6. Come Right Out and Say It

The rest of the week and the weekend went by much faster than I had hoped they would. The weekends were a sacred time for me. It was the only two days of the week I got to sleep in, something I cherished deeply. Saturday and Sunday always passed by too quickly, with this Saturday and Sunday being no exception.

Mondays are generally accepted to be the worst days of the week. No one likes Monday when that alarm clock is blaring in your ears, reminding you that you have a job and responsibilities to attend to. In my eyes, Tuesdays aren't much better either. You're not even half way through the week, no where even close to being to able to sleep in or relax again.

Which is why when my alarm clock went off on Tuesday, I was extremely reluctant to get up. I was half tempted to use one of my sick days, but after hitting the snooze button several times, I decided to drag my self out of bed.

The way I saw it, today was either going to be really awesome or really awkward. It could be really awesome because my date (as much as I hated that word, that's what it was) with Edward could go great. I would make sure he knew I was only interested in something physical and maybe he would be ok with it. If I got my way, it's what he was interested in, too. Or maybe he was going to be one of those overly emotional guys who 'thought we had a connection' or something equally ridiculous and he would beg me to 'give love a chance' or whatever. Of course, I could be completely over reacting either way. Maybe he wanted something deeper than a physical relationship but would be able to respect what I wanted and just move on.

I tried not to think about it too much as I went through my day at work. Work was, well, work and as usual I was relieved when it was 5 o'clock and time for me to go home.

Edward and I had agreed to meet at an Italian restaurant. It was close to my apartment but not close enough to walk, not in the dead of winter anyway. I quickly made my way back to my apartment and changed into something a little more casual before making my way to the L train to go to the restaurant.

* * *

**EPOV**

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for my date with Bella tonight. Since I'd last saw her, I really couldn't get her off my mind, as lame as it sounds. I was kind of disappointed when she said that she wasn't free until Tuesday but I figured it was better than having to wait until next Saturday to see her.

I got to the restaurant a few minutes before her. I decided to just wait for her in the lobby area instead of going ahead and getting a table. Since it was a Tuesday it wasn't too crowded and we wouldn't have to wait to get in when she did get here.

I was checking my email on BlackBerry when I heard someone walk in the door. I looked up and smiled when I saw that it was her. She returned my smile and gave me a friendly hug.

"Hi," she said, still smiling. Good sign, hopefully. "I hope you haven't been waiting on me too long."

"No," I assured. "Not even five minutes."

We made our way over to the hostess station and were quickly lead back to a table for two.

"How have you been?" I asked once we were seated.

Bella looked up from her menu to answer. "Oh, I've been good. Busy, but good. You?"

"About the same. Busy as always, but I can't complain."

Before she could respond, our waiter came and took our drink orders. We continued to look over the menus for about minute in silence.

"So, Bella," I began. "Tell me a little about yourself. I mean, I know where you went to college and what you do for a living but not much else." Over the past few days, I realized I didn't really know that much about her. I knew the basics but we had never really discussed her life before college, her family, or anything like that.

Her expression shifted from friendly politeness to something I couldn't exactly put a finger on as she tore her eyes away from her menu to look at me. I hoped she hadn't had a horrible childhood and I had made her angry by bringing it up.

"Look, Edward." She closed and set down her menu, looking at me square in the eye now. "There's something I need to make clear to you."

Before she could elaborate on what, the waiter returned with our drinks and to take our food order. I quickly told him what I wanted, eager to hear what Bella was going to say. As soon as he left, I returned my attention to Bella.

"Anyway, there's something I need to make sure you know. I'm not really looking for a relationship right now. I know I've agreed to go out on a date with you tonight and that I asked you to be my date for Saturday but it's just not something I'm interested in right now. I'm sorry if I've lead you on or you've felt that this could be going somewhere but it's just not what I'm looking for right now."

I registered what she had just said, taking a sip of my Coke as I thought it over. I didn't want to wait too long to respond so I quickly thought of something to say.

"So what are you looking for exactly, if you're not looking for a relationship?" I asked.

She looked at me and didn't answer for several moments. "I'm just not into the whole exclusive, emotional relationship thing. I guess what you could say I'm looking for is something purely physical. Just someone to have fun with."

I nodded, taking another sip of my drink. I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to this. I had never been in a physical, non-emotional relationship before. On one hand, I wasn't even sure it was entirely possible. Sleeping with someone generally leads to having feels for them, whether you wanted it to or not. However, on the other hand, I had just gotten out of a long term relationship. While the split had been amicable and I wasn't exactly dwelling on the past, being with someone for a year does change you. Maybe a physical relationship was what I needed right now. Maybe I just needed someone to have fun with too, as Bella had put it.

"I can do physical," I said.

She raised her eyebrows at me, as if she was surprised by my response. "Really? I mean, if you're not comfortable with it, it's cool. You're not going to hurt my feelings or anything."

"No, I know," I assured her. "I'm fine with purely physical. It might be nice for a change."

She smiled at me and took a sip of her drink. "Well, I am glad that conversation is over. You wouldn't believe some of the guys that pitch a fit when I tell them that."

I chuckled at that but it had me wondering. How many guys had she done this with before?

* * *

After dinner, we had gone back to her apartment. I knew what was going to happen if I followed her back there but I went anyway.

We were currently making out on her couch, hands roaming everywhere. I'm not exactly sure when, but my shirt had been taken off as well as hers. I trailed my lips down her neck and along her collarbone. I could hear her gasping and panting for air as she tilted her head back and tangled her fingers in my hair. I made my way back up to her mouth and pressed my lips against hers.

No doubt about it, this girl was an amazing kisser.

She traced the outline of my lower lip with her tongue before gently pulling on it with her teeth, which was incredibly hot.

Just as she started to reach for my pants buckle, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. Working at the hospital, I was constantly on call so I had to answer it.

"I'm really sorry," I said as I pulled away and dub my phone out of my pocket.

I answered it and just as I was dreading, they needed me. I really didn't want to leave Bella, not as things were just heating up, but I had no choice.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized once again. "I'm needed at the hospital."

She seemed disappointed that we had to stop but she didn't look angry. "It's fine, don't apologize, I understand."

I gave her a small smile before reaching for my shirt and slipping it over my head. I leaned down and gave her a small kiss before standing up.

"Give me a call about Saturday," I said as I made my way to leave.


End file.
